Wednesday, February 17, 2016

A Guardian Reporter on Syria

The recently released book, Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War by Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami mentions in Chapter 10 some of the media coverage concerning the cataclysmic crisis in Syria. One journalist mentioned is The Guardian's Martin Chulov.

Here is a list of the names of some of the articles that Martin Chulov has written in his reporting of the ongoing crisis in Syria since it began in early 2011. The names of the articles comes from The Guardian's list of his articles. In this list I have tried to focus on the situation in Syria but since the conflict in Syria and Iraq and so closely connected now it can be hard to decide what to include or not.

Some articles are written with others. Some live blogs are included as well.

Hama is beacon of resistance 30 years on from massacre
Syria condemns US ambassador's 'provocative' visit to Hama
Syrian rebel city welcomes US ambassador with roses
The fight to rescue the Arab spring
Protesters shot dead on Syrian day of defiance
Syrian protesters 'forcibly disappeared' at rate of one every hour, say activists

Turkey blamed after defector is returned to Syria
Turkey to press ahead with sanctions against Syria

October

Turkey imposes sanctions on Syria in protest over deaths
Syrian insurrection set to gather momentum
Assad should reform or quit over Syria uprising, says Dmitry Medvedev
Syria is heading for full-blown civil war, top UN official warns
Syrian troops and militias 'abducting injured dissidents' from hospitals
Libya leads world in recognising Syrian opposition's right to rule

November

Syrian tanks shell Homs hours after Arab League peace deal
Syria protests across the country aim to test regime's pledge to end crackdown
Syria faces suspension from Arab League
Syria calls for emergency Arab League meeting over suspension
Assad should quit, says King Abdullah as pressure mounts on Syrian regime
Syria urged to stop violent repression
Free Syrian Army takes shape on Lebanese border
Free Syria Army gathers on Lebanese border

December

Syria: enmities deepen in encircled Homs
The Arab spring has seen dignity being clawed back
Syrian army pursues deserters as western powers sharpen rhetoric
Damascus explosions fit neatly into the Syrian regime's official narrative
Syria blames al-Qaida after two car bombs kill dozens in Damascus
Arab League presence gives cover to Syrian protesters

Syria's rebels fear foreign jihadis in their midst
Execution of Assad troops widens split among rebel fighter factions in Syria
Barack Obama's election 2012 win: the world reacts
The Middle East's reaction to Obama's election victory
Syrian refugee crisis hits new high as 11,000 flee in single day
Moves to form Syrian opposition look set to end in failure
Syrian rebels show united front
Moaz al-Khatib: ex-imam charged with uniting Syria's opposition
David Cameron starts to force the pace on Syria conflict
Syrian rebels capture three military bases in a week
Suspected cluster bomb attack by regime condemned by rights groups
Syrian rebels turn looted missiles on Assad's aircraft
Syria shuts off internet access across the country
Syrian fighting rages as rebels push for Damascus breakthough

Syrian rebels take control of key Assad airbase
Syrian forces launch push on rebel-held Aleppo
Syrian rebels accuse jihadist groups of trying to hijack revolution
Syria crisis: al-Qaida fighters revealing their true colours, rebels say
Russia starts bringing its nationals home from Syria
Even in Assad's coastal retreat, the war has come and the bombs are dropping
Inside the war for Syria's mountains
Syrian rebels recover scores of bodies from Aleppo river as floodwaters recede

February

Syrian rebel raids expose secrets of once-feared military
Brothers in arms: the 10 brothers fighting for the Syrian uprising

Syrian war widens Sunni-Shia schism as foreign jihadis join fight for shrines
Syrian town of Qusair falls to Hezbollah in breakthrough for Assad
Israel reacts angrily to Austria's withdrawal from Golan Heights
Trouble flares on Israel's quiet border
In Lebanon, bravado about Syrian civil war is replaced by foreboding
Syrian rebels prepare for showdown in Aleppo
Threat of sectarian war grows in Syria as jihadists get anti-aircraft missiles

July

Free Syrian Army threatens blood feud after senior officer killed by jihadists
Free Syrian army clashes with jihadists in wake of commander's assassination
Syrian Sunnis fear Assad regime wants to 'ethnically cleanse' Alawite heartland
Syria's exodus: a refugee crisis for the world
Syrian refugee crisis escalates as 25% of country driven out of homes
Syria: UN child specialists warn of new 'lost generation' amid crisis
Zaatari camp: makeshift city in the desert that may be here to stay

The one certainty about Syria's looming election – Assad will win
Syria's starving civilians struggle to survive in bombarded cities
Besieged and terrified … and the food is about to run out for Damascus refugees
France backs claims that Syrian forces have used chemical weapons recently
Yarmouk refugees tell of brutal treatment at hands of Syrians
Chemical weapons body to investigate claims of chlorine gas use in Syria

May

Syrian rebels to abandon Homs district as part of ceasefire deal
Lebanon's refugee schools provide hope for Syria's lost generation
Syrian rebels begin Homs evacuation
Syria rebels blow up Aleppo hotel used as barracks by government forces
WHO warns of risk to Syrian refugees as Mers virus cases increase sharply
Saudi Arabia moves to settle differences with Iran
Aleppo's most wanted man - the rebel leader behind tunnel bombs
Aid group Mercy Corps forced to close Damascus operations
Battle for Aleppo could prove final reckoning in Syria's war

June

Syrians vote in presidential election

August

British Isis militant in James Foley video 'guards foreign hostages in Syria'
Islamic State militants seize four more foreign hostages in Syria
James Foley and fellow freelancers: exploited by pared-back media outlets
Isis fighters surround Syrian airbase in rapid drive to recapture lost territory
Isis gains in Syria put pressure on west to deliver more robust response
Isis surges towards the borders of Turkey as west mulls options
US 'set to launch air strikes' on senior Isis leaders in Syria
Islamic State militants seize Syrian airbase
US launches reconnaissance flights over Syria

September

Explosion in Syria kills senior leadership of Ahrar al-Sham
How the US targets Isis in Syria will reveal Barack Obama's true goals
Syrian city of Raqqa gripped by fear of US air strikes on Isis
Measles vaccination mix-up leaves 15 infants dead in northern Syria
US confirms 14 air strikes against Isis in Syria
Raqqa residents on US strikes: ‘I would not wish them on my worst enemy’
Isis reconciles with al-Qaida group as Syria air strikes continue

October

Turkish MPs to vote on military action against Isis
Turkey to allow Kurdish peshmerga across its territory to fight in Kobani
Isis apparently takes control of US weapons airdrop intended for Kurds

November

US plan for proxy army to fight Isis in Syria suffers attack
Latest Islamic State horror masks a week of defeats
Obama confirms death of US hostage Peter Kassig after Isis releases video
Peter Kassig murder: experts try to identify foreign jihadis in Isis video

December

‘Hell is never far away’: the female medic risking her life for Aleppo
Syrian rebels prepare to defend ruined Aleppo as troops and militias close in

2015

January

Islamic State video threatens lives of two Japanese hostages
Jordan agrees to swap death-row terrorist for Isis-held pilot
Isis sets sunset deadline for Jordan to free bomber and save hostage
Jordan demands proof from Isis that captured pilot is alive
Jordan still waits to hear from Isis over prisoner swap

February

Jordan seeks proof that Isis captive is alive as tributes are paid to Kenji Goto
Isis video shows Jordanian hostage being burned to death
Jordan executes would-be suicide bomber wanted for release by Islamic State
Jordanians turn their minds to revenge after Isis killing of pilot

March

Christian militia in Syria defends ancient settlements against Isis
The worst place in the world? Aleppo in ruins after four years of Syria war

Doubt cast over seniority of Isis leader killed by US special forces in Syria raid
First Ramadi, then Palmyra: Isis shows it can storm bastions of Syria and Iraq
Amid the ruins of Syria, is Bashar al-Assad now finally facing the end?
Khorasan: are Syria's mysterious 'strangers with horses' a threat to the west?

June

Syria: Isis advance on Aleppo aided by Assad regime air strikes, US says

July

Turkey sends in jets as Syria’s agony spills over every border

August

Ascendant Kurds emerge from Syrian civil war as major power player
UN condemns Syria market attack as witnesses tell of 'corpses everywhere'
Syria bombs Damascus suburb a day after deadly air strikes on marketplace

US accuses Russia of 'throwing gasoline on fire' of Syrian civil war
Who's who in the Syrian conflict, and what happens next?
Syrian rebels decry Russian airstrikes: 'we have not had Isis here in over a year'
Syrian war's al-Qaida affiliate calls for terror attacks in Russia
Turkey shoots down unidentified drone near Syrian border
Russia paves way for Assad regime’s Iranian-backed advance on Aleppo
Four Syrian hospitals bombed since Russian airstrikes began, doctors say
Syria peace talks pin hopes for end to war on Iran and Saudi Arabia

November

Isis tops a short list of possible culprits in suspected plane attack
Isis 'caliphate' setbacks may matter less to group as it changes tack
Paris terror attacks: France launches fresh airstrikes on Isis in Syria – as it happened
Is Vladimir Putin right to label Turkey ‘accomplices of terrorists’?
Nato meets as Russia confirms one of two pilots dead after jet shot down - as it happened

December

New evidence supports claims about Syrian state detention deaths
Russia's airstrikes on Syria appear futile with little progress on ground

If You are new please read this

Hand in Hand for Syria

Keep Somalia's Remittances Open

I encourage readers to sign this petition from Oxfam calling upon the U.S. government to let the Somali diaspora continue to send remittance to their loved ones in Somalia.

Moves have been made to shut down such remittances from Somalis in America. Many Somalis need these remittances. The remittances to Somalia are larger than foreign aid contributions and are a lifeline to these people caught in trouble and turmoil.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".

Truth about Roderick C. Meredith

What sort of man is he? A man who could say things like this.

"Mr. Armstrong has reminded us again that we are to disfellowship any members who attend GTA's [Garner Ted Armstrong's] campaigns, church services or other meetings. Some of our weaker members apparently do not realize that this man is in direct rebellion against God and His government! We must not allow them, or ourselves, to rationalize about this matter, to try to "help the underdog," or in any other way lend support to one whose gross immorality, whose long standing "play acting" and hypocrisy, and whose direct insubordination to the Government of God has long been and is now a source of confusion and DIVISION among God's people. So, as per Mr. Armstrong's instruction, I charge and exhort every one of you faithful ministers of the living Christ to explain this in no uncertain terms to your members, to warn them about this cause of division and then to disfellowship any who consort with GTA or any of his fellows." (Roderick C. Meredith, Pastor's Report, May 21, 1979, pp. 1-2.)

David Robinson on Roderick C. Meredith

"During the ten years I have been an employee of the Worldwide Church, you have been poorly spoken of by most of the ministers and employees I have known. I vividly remember the absolute unbounded glee that was openly expressed by a good number of respected men in the church when you were first "shanghaied." [In 1972.] I could begin by naming names, which I am sure would shock you. I was one of the few who stood, where possible, for you. Your tenure as superintendent of ministers, as I believe the office was then called, was looked on as nightmarish. While you held office during the years of growth, most of those whom I know gave you very little credit for that growth. Almost everyone whom I know, whether they be former friends of yours, or continuing foes, recalls insensitive and terrible things you have done. Without exception, at least among my acquaintances, they all credit you with an unbridled lust for power and list you as one who is willing to pay the price of gaining that power, no matter what. I have, through many of the last few years, believed you had principles you would not violate. Many a man of experience in the church assured me of my error. Events have proven me wrong and them right. Mr. Armstrong has himself been widely quoted as saying of you that you were so righteous that you were so "righteous you were unrighteous." " (David Robinson, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web, Chapter 16, p. 207.)

Of course it is impossible for me to personally verify these assertions but people deserve to know what this knowledgeable man had to say about him.